Actually, Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson had more practical words for the organization's top pitching prospect, who along with Byron Buxton led the first round of 16 roster cuts Sunday.

"Big leaguers hit fastballs," Gardenhire said. "They're going to hit it. You've got to use everything. You've got to be able to change speeds, slow it down a little bit and use that breaking ball to get them off the fastball."

Even when that fastball is thrown at 96-98 miles per hour, as Meyer again flashed in his only two relief appearances of the spring. The final one came Friday in a "B" game at the Pittsburgh Pirates, where Meyer threw just eight strikes in 17 pitches in a one-inning stint.

"He's doing just fine," Gardenhire said. "He said some good things in here. He learned some things about holding runners and slowing the game down and not rushing. He's talked with the right people here."

One of those was Twins hall of famer Eddie Guardado, who emphasized to Meyer the importance of throwing more changeups and throwing them with conviction.

First baseman Kennys Vargas was optioned to Double-A New Britain, while infielder Jorge Polanco and outfielder Max Kepler were optioned to Class A Fort Myers.

The Twins reassigned nine to minor league camp, including Buxton after he went 3 for 22 (.136) with a home run, a walk and two strikeouts in his first big-league camp.

Also reassigned were pitchers Lester Oliveros and Yohan Pino; catchers Stuart Turner, Kyle Knudson and Matt Koch; outfielder Chris Rahl and third baseman Miguel Sano, who will undergo Tommy John surgery Wednesday in New York City.

Sunday's cuts left the Twins with 48 players in their big-league camp.

The volume of cuts was much greater than usual. Last year, for instance, the Twins sent out just five in their first round of roster trimming: Meyer, Oliveros, Nick Blackburn, Esmerling Vasquez and Bryan Augenstein.